An image forming apparatus picks up recording media stored in a paper feeding cassette one by one, forms an image on the recording medium, and discharges the recording medium. The discharged recording medium is passed to a finishing apparatus and subjected to finishing such as stapling.
A mechanism configured to convey the recording medium includes wearing components besides a guide. Therefore, in some case, the recording medium is conveyed while being laterally shifted by a warp or shaving of the guide or wear of the other components.
In repair of the image forming apparatus, when a part of the image forming apparatus is disassembled and assembled again, a gap could occur in the mechanism configured to convey the recording medium. The gap could cause a lateral shift of the recording medium.
If the recording medium is conveyed while being laterally shifted, in some case, the recording medium is not successfully passed to the finishing apparatus and a jam occurs.
To solve this problem, there is proposed an image forming apparatus including a correcting mechanism configured to correct the lateral shift of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of the recording medium.
However, if the lateral shift of the recording medium is corrected in the perpendicular direction, a twist of the recording medium and a jam in the correcting mechanism tend to occur.
Therefore, there is a demand for a lateral shift correcting apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and a recording medium conveying method in which a twist and a jam of a recording medium less easily occur.